For all you sports fans out there, I’m sure most of you have
heard about the A-Rod situation that’s been going on for the past few months.
For those that haven’t, I’ll briefly explain.
In August, the New York Yankees’ superstar Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod) was
accused of having used performance-enhancing drugs and was issued a 211 – game
suspension, the longest suspension ever issued in the MLB. He was also accused
of participating in Biogenesis, an anti-aging clinic. He is now trying to prove
that these accusations are not true.
But it
isn’t just A-Rod who has been juicing. In an article I read on CNN.com (the
link for which is here: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/21/us/alex-rodriguez-mlb-suspension/index.html?hpt=hp_t4),
it is stated that twelve other MLB players were suspended for 50 games for the
same offenses. However, according to the article, A-Rod is the only player who
has decided to appeal his suspension.
Taking
performance-enhancing drugs is illegal not only because it gives the player an
unfair advantage over other players who do not take the drugs, but also because
of the many harmful effects on the body that these drugs have. A few of the most horrific problems that can
be caused are heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease, and brain cancer. An
article from muscleandstrength.com that talks about all of the harmful effects
of steroids can be found here: http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/steroids-and-their-harmful-side-effects.html.
The fact that an increasing number
of baseball players, the idols of so many young kids, are juicing is a huge
problem. These players who use steroids set a poor example for the kids and are
basically telling them that cheating is okay and that winning is more important
than their health. I understand that players have a desire to live up to their
expectations and their salaries, but achieving these things by compromising
moral values, health, and the respect of their teammates and fans is
unacceptable.
Whenever I hear that a record-setting
baseball player has been found guilty of taking performance-enhancing drugs, I
think of his accomplishments as tarnished greatly. They almost don’t seem to count in my book
once I hear that. I think that if a baseball player is convicted of taking
PEDs, then his records should be removed from the books. What do you think?
On top of the steroid era in baseball, we could also explore the Lance Armstrong situation that occurred earlier this year. I personally find that to be the more pressing issue because his whole life he was an avid member in an Anti-Doping campaign. He lied to the world for decades about the secrets to his success, and on top of that, a large portion of his life after racing has been dedicated to eradicate steroids from sports. Regardless of the sport, steroids are ruining honest competition, and a lot has to be done to restore the credibility in professional athletes.
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